In the murderous attack that lasted 10 minutes, Baba has suffered a fracture in his right leg; his two aides, Pavitar Singh and Randeep Singh sustained head and arms injuries.

In an incident that exposes lax security inside the Kapurthala Modern Jail, members of a rival group attacked and injured gangster, Gurjeet Singh aka Sonu Baba, and his two aides in the high-security barracks on Sunday evening.

The man leading the attacking group, Ramandeep Singh alias Romi of Masana Sangat in Bathinda, and the victim, Baba, are both accused in the January 2015 murder of gangster Sukha Kahlwan in Phagwara.

The two had fallen out since and Ramandeep had been shifted to a cell in the same barrack as Baba, only recently. The accused have been identified as Hardeep Singh Shera, of Majri Kishne Wali village in Fatehgarh Sahib, Varinder Singh of Moga, Sukhchain Singh of Mansa and Akhlesh, alias Kaka, of Ludhiana.

According to the FIR, Romi and his four associates entered Cell-2 after breaking the main lock. A barrack has 10 cells located 50-100 ft from each other.

In the murderous attack that lasted 10 minutes, Baba has suffered a fracture in his right leg; his two aides, Pavitar Singh and Randeep Singh sustained head and arms injuries. The Kotwali police have booked the five inmates who launched the attack under section 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (hurt by dangerous weapons) and 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) of the IPC and relevant sections of The Prisoners Act.

“On Saturday, the two groups had argued in the barracks. On Sunday, Romi entered the barracks after breaking the main lock and thrashed them badly with iron grills and pipes,” a senior jail officer said, on the condition of anonymity.

One of the other prisoners pressed the siren bell immediately, but the police could stop the clash only after 10 minutes. On Monday, jail superintendent, SP Khanna, called a meeting of the jail staff and the Kotwali police staff on the jail premises.

When contacted, Khanna told HT, “The clash happened in the open area of the barracks and they could break open the cell door. A case has been registered.” Inquiry officer in the case, assistant sub-inspector Rajinder Kumar said, “The case is under investigation. The injured are undergoing treatment at the jail hospital.”